Maria Bamford

Maria Bamford
Bamford performing at a comedy club in 2008
Born	(1970-09-03) September 3, 1970 (age 46) Port Hueneme, California, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Bates College University of Edinburgh University of Minnesota
Years active	1989–present
Genres	Observational comedy, character comedy, surreal humor, alternative comedy
Subject(s)	Pop culture, personal life, mental health
Spouse	Scott Marvel Cassidy (m. 2015)
Website	mariabamford.com

Maria Elizabeth Sheldon Bamford (born September 3, 1970) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and voice actress. She is best known for her portrayal of her dysfunctional family and self-deprecating comedy involving jokes about depression and anxiety. A native of California, Bamford grew up in Minnesota before gaining admission to Bates College in Maine where she studied abroad and eventually transferred to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Her comedy aspirations formalized at Edinburgh as she joined the university's improvised comedy group, The Improverts. After a year in Scotland, she transferred to the University of Minnesota, where she began doing stand up at Stevie Ray's Comedy Cabaret.

After her stint at the Comedy Club, she went on to release her first comedy album prompting her first comedy tour, The Burning Bridges Tour (2003) followed by her second album, How to WIN!, and her third, Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome (2009). She starred in her first feature film, Lucky Numbers (2000) before lending her voice to characters on CatDog, American Dad!, Ugly Americans, Adventure Time, and BoJack Horseman. Bamford's film work includes Stuart Little 2 (2002), Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure (2003), Barnyard (2006), Heckler (2007), and her most recent film, Hell & Back (2015). She transitioned into television early on in her career by starring in Louie (2012), Arrested Development (2012), and WordGirl (2014). In 2014, she won the American Comedy Award for Best Club Comic.